Matji, Robert Elias Mokxotho

Born Aug. 25, 1922, in Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. A figure in the communist and national liberation movement in Lesotho.

In 1938, Matji joined the African National Congress, a party in South Africa. Between 1941 and 1955 he was a member of the South African Communist Party. In 1955 he moved to Lesotho, joining the Basutoland African Congress. Matji was one of the organizers of the Communist Party of Lesotho (CPL). At the constituent assembly of May 5, 1962, he was elected chairman of the party. After the CPL was banned in February 1970, he was repeatedly arrested.